Prime Minister Narendra Modi will bring home 157 artefacts and antiquities handed over to him by the United States during his three-day visit.
The list of 157 artefacts includes a diverse set of items ranging from the one and a half metre bas relief panel of Revanta in sandstone of the 10th CE to the 8.5 cm tall bronze Nataraja from the 12th CE.
The items largely belong to 11th-14th CE and historic antiquities like copper anthropomorphic object of 2000 BC or terracotta vase from 2nd CE.
Some 45 antiquities belong to BCE. Half of artefacts are cultural, other half are figurines relating to Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
The artefacts and antiquities are made up of metal, stone & terracotta.
The bronze collection primarily contains ornate figurines of well-known postures of Lakshmi Narayana, Buddha, Vishnu, Siva Parvathi, 24 Jain Tirthankaras and Kankalamurti, Brahmi and Nandikesa besides other unnamed deities and divine figures.
The motifs include religious sculptures from Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism as well as secular motifs such as amorphous couple in Samabhanga, Chowri Bearer, female playing drum etc.
There are 56 terracotta pieces (vase 2nd CE, pair of deer 12th CE, bust of female 14th CE) & an 18th CE sword with sheath with inscription mentioning Guru Hargovind Singh in Persian).
This shows PM Modi and US President Joe Biden's commitment to strengthen their efforts to combat theft, illicit trade and trafficking of cultural objects, reported news agency ANI.
Also, this is in continuation of the efforts taken by Modi government to bring back our antiquities and artefacts from across the world, it added.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday addressed the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. He spoke on a number of issues including the coronavirus pandemic, terrorism, Afghanistan crisis, climate change, etc.
